Hellfire Concept #1
Who's come to join the Hellfire Club?!
One you wouldn't eXpect!
One you wouldn't eXpect!
Minimum
Potential Extras
- Cyclops (me; other X-Men = NPCs, but open for discussion)
- Mastermind
- Emma Frost
Potential Extras
- Any other Hellfire Club members
- Got a fav canon who's never been in the Club but wanna' give it a whirl? Let's talk!
Jean Grey has vanished!
More specifically she's left Cyclops.
He has no idea why, or where she went.
He doesn't remember any details, only facts: she's left, without word or relocation.
And she has their son.
He wants to find her, and presently finds himself at the door to the Hellfire Club, looking for Mastermind.
Several years prior, Cyclops, Xavier and Jean had concocted a plan to thwart Mastermind's scheme to mind control Jean Grey in order to get at the power he felt in her - Mastermind was imprisoned in a corner of the Astral Realm.
To add to the unknowns here, nobody knows how he got out.
Cyclops thinks there might be something to learn from this that'll lead him to Jean, as it seems his and her unique psychic link broke apart along with them.
He wants answers. He at least wants his son.
Mastermind wants Jean (again).
An unlikely, and potentially reckless alliance unfolds!
Or does it?
More specifically she's left Cyclops.
He has no idea why, or where she went.
He doesn't remember any details, only facts: she's left, without word or relocation.
And she has their son.
He wants to find her, and presently finds himself at the door to the Hellfire Club, looking for Mastermind.
Several years prior, Cyclops, Xavier and Jean had concocted a plan to thwart Mastermind's scheme to mind control Jean Grey in order to get at the power he felt in her - Mastermind was imprisoned in a corner of the Astral Realm.
To add to the unknowns here, nobody knows how he got out.
Cyclops thinks there might be something to learn from this that'll lead him to Jean, as it seems his and her unique psychic link broke apart along with them.
He wants answers. He at least wants his son.
Mastermind wants Jean (again).
An unlikely, and potentially reckless alliance unfolds!
Or does it?
Skip this section if you're interested enough and are the type who would like to experience the revelations along with the character(s) of your choosing.
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Jean has not left Cyclops. And he isn't joining the Hellfire Club really.
The reality is, a few days ago Jean got a sense of Mastermind no longer being in the Astral Realm, and further that he would be coming for her again, this time with enhanced power of unknown degree and cause. Jean would be particularly susceptible to Mastermind's illusions due to a side-effect of her time as Phoenix in space. It would be serious bad news if he were able to infiltrate her mind.
So, Cyclops devised a plan, endorsed by Xavier but initially opposed by Jean, to essentially go undercover in the Hellfire Club to get close to Mastermind and learn exactly how his power has grown so they can further devise a plan to stop him for good.
To avoid Cyclops' mind giving him away, Xavier, Jean, and Cyclops himself (thanks to some "psychic kung fu" Jean taught following their initial dealings with Mastermind) psychically blocked off anything deemed a danger to have accessible, including the plan itself, and the false situation was planted in his mind by Jean. As far as Cyclops is presently aware, Jean having abandoned him is reality. Anyone in doubt of the validity of this who might probe his mind will find only several "broken doors".
Each night as he sleeps, whatever Cyclops has observed, overheard or otherwise got a sense of through the day, is "streamed" to Xavier via a "private channel", unbeknownst to Cyclops.
Five additional safeguards have been put into place:
Concerns were put forward regarding Emma Frost: would she be able to detect emotions purposefully locked away? Would their mental safeguards be enough to guard against emotional manipulation? But Cyclops countered these, actually trusting Emma, given their history (see Additional Details), not to mess with him regardless.
None of the other X-Men have been let in on this plan. As far as they're concerned, Jean is missing and they have no idea what Cyclops is thinking.
In truth on Jean's part, she is hiding with her and Cyclops' son in a makeshift living space in the little-known catacombs beneath the mansion grounds, waiting until they can be reunited without worry.
.
.
.
.
Jean has not left Cyclops. And he isn't joining the Hellfire Club really.
The reality is, a few days ago Jean got a sense of Mastermind no longer being in the Astral Realm, and further that he would be coming for her again, this time with enhanced power of unknown degree and cause. Jean would be particularly susceptible to Mastermind's illusions due to a side-effect of her time as Phoenix in space. It would be serious bad news if he were able to infiltrate her mind.
So, Cyclops devised a plan, endorsed by Xavier but initially opposed by Jean, to essentially go undercover in the Hellfire Club to get close to Mastermind and learn exactly how his power has grown so they can further devise a plan to stop him for good.
To avoid Cyclops' mind giving him away, Xavier, Jean, and Cyclops himself (thanks to some "psychic kung fu" Jean taught following their initial dealings with Mastermind) psychically blocked off anything deemed a danger to have accessible, including the plan itself, and the false situation was planted in his mind by Jean. As far as Cyclops is presently aware, Jean having abandoned him is reality. Anyone in doubt of the validity of this who might probe his mind will find only several "broken doors".
Each night as he sleeps, whatever Cyclops has observed, overheard or otherwise got a sense of through the day, is "streamed" to Xavier via a "private channel", unbeknownst to Cyclops.
Five additional safeguards have been put into place:
- If anyone tries to mind control Cyclops, he'll "hear the orders" but secretly "remain in the control room"; his agency is preserved.
- While he doesn't know the true reality, certain "hidden imprints" have been left in a guarded corner of his mind, ensuring he drives in the direction they need.
- Through a different "private channel", Xavier can "flip the off switch" if he feels, at any time, the plan has been compromised and Cyclops is at risk, restoring his full awareness.
- To prevent any remote possibility of "piggy-backing", Cyclops and Jean Grey's unique psychic bond has been cut off.
- Xavier has also cut himself off from Jean's mind. He alone has been entrusted with monitoring the operation and making all judgement calls going forward.
Concerns were put forward regarding Emma Frost: would she be able to detect emotions purposefully locked away? Would their mental safeguards be enough to guard against emotional manipulation? But Cyclops countered these, actually trusting Emma, given their history (see Additional Details), not to mess with him regardless.
None of the other X-Men have been let in on this plan. As far as they're concerned, Jean is missing and they have no idea what Cyclops is thinking.
In truth on Jean's part, she is hiding with her and Cyclops' son in a makeshift living space in the little-known catacombs beneath the mansion grounds, waiting until they can be reunited without worry.
In this universe, Emma Frost is an emotion-manipulating empath who works as a therapist, using her powers on her clients.
Cyclops (unware at the time of how she practices) went to her for therapy years ago, when Jean had "died". Emma was taken by the fact that she couldn't manipulate his emotions; she found she couldn't access them. She was moved by the fact that he cared so much for Jean, it's like Jean held the key to his emotions (further exemplified by how his emotions returned when Jean-as-Phoenix was able to convince him to finally let go before she ascended*, which Emma secretly witnessed and later felt when Cyclops returned to Emma's office to thank her; her therapeutic words having finally reached him).
An instance occurred within this time where Cyclops learned of Emma's manipulation tactics. While he doesn't of course approve, he knows she had never manipulated him when he went to her, and though he doesn't know why, it has likewise left an impression on him. Cyclops remains one if not the only person Emma doesn't want to manipulate; even though she may presently be able to.
Cyclops (unware at the time of how she practices) went to her for therapy years ago, when Jean had "died". Emma was taken by the fact that she couldn't manipulate his emotions; she found she couldn't access them. She was moved by the fact that he cared so much for Jean, it's like Jean held the key to his emotions (further exemplified by how his emotions returned when Jean-as-Phoenix was able to convince him to finally let go before she ascended*, which Emma secretly witnessed and later felt when Cyclops returned to Emma's office to thank her; her therapeutic words having finally reached him).
*A few years later, an equally unexplainable phenomenon occurred in that Jean "descended", and returned living as herself for quite some years; she and Cyclops got married, the aforementioned Mastermind-into-the-Astral-Realm scenario happened, they had their son, etc.
An instance occurred within this time where Cyclops learned of Emma's manipulation tactics. While he doesn't of course approve, he knows she had never manipulated him when he went to her, and though he doesn't know why, it has likewise left an impression on him. Cyclops remains one if not the only person Emma doesn't want to manipulate; even though she may presently be able to.
Hellfire Concept #2
Let's raise a little Hellfire!
This one is less a concept and more an impulse; anything goes, sandbox style.
Let's just have fun doing Hellfire shenanigans-type of scenario.
Though if you have a specific Hellfire story in mind that could drive this, maybe something you've just not gotten around to RPing before, go right ahead and drop me a line! I love to collaborate.